Among the many techniques for producing high voltage pulses, the Marx generator is one of the most popular. The Marx generator exhibits a combination of short rise time and low output impedance. It also provides large energy, high efficiency and waveform flexibility.
The essence of the Marx principle is to charge a number of capacitive storage elements (electrostatic energy stores) in parallel and then, through transient switching techniques connect (or "erect") the elements in series, thus producing an effective multiplication of the source voltage. In the original generator described by Erwin Marx in 1923, the capacitors were charged in parallel through high resistances and the switches were simple two-electrode spark gaps triggered by the over-voltage accumulating from the switching of previous stages.
Another Marx design utilizes thyratrons to control switching, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,375,594, entitled "Thyratron Marx High Voltage Generator", issued to Ewanizky, Jr.
Although conventional Marx circuits are adequate for achieving moderately fast rise times (greater than ten nanoseconds), a modification of the Marx circuit must be implemented in order to achieve ultra fast rise times (less than one nanosecond). Those concerned with the development of pulse power technology have consistently sought methods and apparatus which will provide generators with faster rise times.